Pearls are a popular gem for use in jewelry, and while many real pearls are available, this popularity has also led to the creation of fake pearls. However, there are various ways to distinguish between real and fake pearls, including a bounce test.
Real pearls do bounce, which can be a useful way to determine whether a particular pearl is real or fake. A real pearl will have a rebound bounce height of at least a foot when dropped from around two feet onto a glass surface.
In addition to checking bounce height, you can utilize a variety of other methods to check whether a pearl is real or not. It is best to use various methods in combination, rather than relying on one method only.
What is the difference between a real pearl and a fake pearl?
Real pearls are produced by certain mollusks as a defense mechanism when an irritant enters their shell. The mollusk coats the irritant in layers of nacre and as these layers build up, a pearl is formed.
There is a difference between natural pearls and cultured pearls. Both kinds of pearls are real, though natural pearls are formed in the wild by mollusks whereas cultured pearls are formed by mollusks in pearl farms.
Cultured pearls involve human intervention, with pearl farmers intentionally adding an irritant in the mollusk’s shell to begin the pearl-making process. Cultured pearls can be grown in both seawater and freshwater pearl farms.
Natural pearls are extremely rare and harvesting them is banned in many places. Almost all of the commercially available pearls today are cultured pearls, which are still real pearls as they have been grown in mollusks.
Fake pearls on the other hand are manmade and not created by mollusks. Sometimes referred to as imitation pearls, they come in a variety of materials such as glass, alabaster, plastic, or shells with pearl-like coatings that resemble real pearls.
The drop test
One of the most straightforward ways to tell if a pearl is real is to drop it and see how high it bounces. Drop the pearl onto a glass surface (such as a glass table) from a height of around two feet.
Watch how high the pearl bounces back up after being dropped. If it bounces over a foot in height, the pearl is likely to be real.
The rebound height of a fake pearl is significantly lower than that of a real pearl.
Using touch to help determine whether a pearl is real or fake
The drop test isn’t the only method you can use to distinguish real pearls from fake pearls. A straightforward method is to touch the pearl.
A real pearl feels cool to the touch and will warm up after a few seconds of being in contact with your skin. Fake pearls take on the room temperature around them and may feel warm to the touch or even sticky.
Most fake pearls do not feel cold initially when touching them with your fingers, though some fake pearls made from glass may feel cold. However, these fake glass pearls will usually take longer to warm up against your skin than real ones.
Real pearls have visual irregularities
Another way to determine whether pearls are real or fake is to look for irregularities on the pearl’s surface. Real pearls have irregularities or ridges on their surface, which you may be able to observe with the naked eye but may also require magnification to see.
If pearls look identical in a strand in terms of color, size, shape, and surface texture, it is highly likely these pearls are fake. Fake pearls may also feel either unnaturally lightweight (such as fake pearls made from plastic) or conversely unnaturally heavy (such as those made from solid glass), though it’s useful to utilize other methods in combination with the feel of their weight.
Real pearls come in a variety of shapes and are rarely round. Even real pearls that have been carefully chosen for their round shapes will still have some minor differences in their shapes.
Observing luster is important too, as real pearls reflect light in a distinct way and have a distinct luster, whereas fake pearls have an unnatural, glassy luster.
Rubbing pearls together or against your teeth
You can rub a pearl against the front of your teeth or rub two gently together. A real pearl will feel slightly gritty, whereas a fake pearl will feel smooth or glassy.
Rubbing two pearls together will also create a pearl powder, whereas fake pearls won’t. Obviously, it’s important not to overdo this in a test in order to minimize damage.